Just a Few
by Serenity Starke
Summary: This is a short story based on an LJ word prompt: Guilt.  Steve couldn't believe what he had just done.


**AN:** Wow – I don't know what it is about this fandom, but it has bitten me bad. I have never written anything before this weekend and now I am actually posting my second story. I know there is a ton of room for improvement and I hope that I will get better with experience. This is a little something that jumped in my head from a prompt from a H5O LJ site. The word prompt was: Guilt

Irealize that I had forgotten a disclaimer in my first story, When it Counts, so here it is for this story….I don't own them but if I did….I'd keep them for ever and ever!

Now…on to the story!

"See you next week, Gracie". Steve yelled at the retreating backs of Danny and Grace as they walked to Danny's car.

Steve quietly closed the door and turned around and looked over his kitchen. He had to shake his head and smile….the kitchen was a mess. It was always like that after the Tornado Twins, Danny and Grace, came over for a visit. Steve didn't mind though, he actually loved the fact that Danny allowed him to share in his limited time with Grace. She had come to hold a very special spot in his heart, just like her father had.

Danny always offered to help clean up, but Steve always told him not to worry about it. He would rather Danny spend every moment possible with Grace before he had to bring her back to Rachel and Step Stan.

Steve approached the kitchen like the tactical guy he was, one step at a time. He first put everything away that needed to be refrigerated then he loaded up the dishwasher. He couldn't believe how many glasses they always seemed to use when Grace was around. Next he began to wipe down all the surfaces starting with the table and worked his way to all the counters. When he reached the countertop near the bread box, he came across Gracie's bag of M&M's. They were Grace's special treat when she spent time with Danny. Rachel never allowed for junk food so Danny would allow her a small cup full of M&M's while she was with him.

He had to laugh to himself as he thought of his partner's terrible eating habits. While Danny ate anything and everything (mostly fried or sugared), he was very health conscious of what Grace ate.

Steve started to close up the one pound bag to put away for Grace's next visit when he got the sudden urge to have some. Steve was never one to imbibe in many sweets, even as a kid he usually always passed over candy for a piece of fruit, or better yet, a piece of his mom's homemade pies. Now that he thought about it, he doesn't ever recall ever having any M&M's before.

Steve found himself looking around the kitchen, as if to see if anybody was watching, and then reached into the bag and grabbed a handful of the multi colored little chocolate pieces. Taking one last look around, he popped the handful of candy in his mouth and began to chew.

As the candy coating began to disappear and the rich chocolate coated his tongue, he rolled his eyes and let out a small moan as if he had just reached ecstasy. Now he knew why Grace loved them so much.

He had only intended on having a few, but before he knew it, Steve was reaching into an empty bag. He had consumed almost three quarters of a pound of the little treats. His face flushed with embarrassment and then he was struck with guilt for having finished all of Grace's candy. Steve couldn't believe he had eaten the rest of the bag. He felt another twinge of guilt as he threw the empty bag away and he made a promise to himself right then and there that he would get her another bag before she came to visit with her Dad next weekend.

The week flew by and was extremely busy for the elite 5.0 team. Between rescuing another delegate's kidnapped daughter, closing down a sweatshop and smuggling ring and almost getting blown up, again, while stopping an arms dealer, Steve had forgotten all about replacing Grace's candy.

Saturday had arrived and Danny and Grace were at Steve's as usual. Grace was going to show Danny and Steve what Kono had been teaching her with surfing. As per her usual routine, after Grace greeted and hugged Steve, she asked her father for her candy treat.

Being the doting father that he was, Danny went straight to the cabinet where he kept a bag of said treats just for Grace. When he couldn't find what he was looking for, he glanced over at Steve and asked, "Hey, do you know where the bag of M&M's went to?"

Steve had been reaching in the refrigerator to grab beers for he and Danny when he suddenly froze at Danny's question.

"Ummm, maybe the cleaning lady ate them when she was here?"

Danny didn't miss the look of guilt in Steve's eyes and he knew immediately that Steve had eaten them. He could have had a field day with comments and making Steve feel bad but he knew that Steve felt bad enough for begrudging Gracie of her treat so he let it slide.

"Hey, Grace, why don't you show Danno what Kono taught you this week?" Steve said, hoping to distract her from asking for the candy again.

It worked like a charm and as Grace grabbed Danny by the hand and headed for the beach, Steve grabbed his keys and headed to the store to get the biggest bag of M & M's he could find.

By the time Grace had finished showing Danny all that she had learned, Steve had made it back and filled a cup to the brim with candy and brought the cup, along with two beers, down to the beach. Danny just smiled at him when he handed the cup to Grace.

The day finished off with a satisfying meal of pizza, without pineapple, thank you very much, and a very tired Grace being carried out to the car. Steve dropped the bag of Grace's stuff into the back seat through Danny's open window and as Danny started to back out of the driveway he asked Steve, "So, I guess you liked them?" He then proceeded to drive away, the whole time chuckling at the look on Steve's face.

The next morning when Steve walked into his office, the first thing he noticed was a 64 oz. bag of M&M's on his desk.


End file.
